Sunday was the QC Marathon, and let me tell you it didn't seem like it could come fast enough, all week I was anxious, nervous and suffering from taper madness but finally the day was here. I woke up early so I could eat breakfast a few hours before leaving for the race, last year I had a horrible experience the last 6 miles with cramping and getting tunnel vision from lack of nutrition before and during the race and this year I was not going to repeat my mistakes. I had a light breakfast of some of my favorite old reliables and load my pockets up with gels, I planned to take 2 right before the start and have 2 in reserve in case I ran into a spot I really needed one and couldn't wait till the next spot on the course that was handing them out. I had all the GU stations mapped out and I planned on taking 2 at each station even if I didn't need them right then and would hold on to them for later if need be.
After getting everyone loaded up (Deanna and the boys were doing the 5k walk with Dee's sister and our nieces) we headed down to the Mark (I refuse to call it by its new name since I work for a competing cellular company, LOL). Normally I like to warm up with a couple of miles before a race, but with a marathon the first few miles serve as my warm up. After hitting the porta-john one last time it was almost time for the gun.
The race started off slowly for me, took nearly 4 minutes to get to the starting line, which was perfectly fine by me. I got to start the race with my family and it forced me to go out much, much slower than my target pace. I have had a habit this year of starting races much to fast, which is not so bad in a 10k but over the course of 4 hours and 26.2 miles it could make for a very painful day. Once we made it over I74 bridge I was able to speed it up a bit and get into a nice groove. The first 4 or 5 miles went by pretty quickly and effortlessly, I love the first part of the course as it goes through my old neighborhood and where I grew up.
By the time we made our way into Davenport I was doing pretty good and I had an eye on my desired pace group just off in the distances. My plan was to stay pretty close to the 4:10 group through the first half of the race conserve some energy and then try to gain and hopefully pass the 4:00 group on the second half. At the down and back section just past John O'Donnell I met up with a fellow LU member Aaron Maurer whom I had met the night before at the pasta dinner. We ran together for a good portion of the race, talking and getting to know each other, and it certainly helped pass the time, I was really thankful to have Aaron to run with for a portion of the race especially after we crossed Centennial Bridge. I wasn't hurting or getting tired (yet), but that point in the mileage it can really start to drag and having some one right next to you to carry a conversation with really makes a big impact, I'm sure I wouldn't have had the finish I was looking for with out it.
Once we made our way on to the Arsenal I started to get the sense I was going to lose Aaron soon, my left hamstring was starting to tighten up and even though our pace hadn't quickened any I was struggling to keep up with him. Finally at one water stop after he had pulled ahead of me a ways I decided to stop and stretch it out for a minute and I'm really glad I did. Immediately afterwards my hamstring felt great, no tightness and I was able to get right back into my groove and was even starting to get back under my target pace which was good I had some time to make up now. I could see Aaron off in the distance so I just tried to keep him in sight and reel him in over the next 10 miles or so. The rain started falling soon after my short break, which I wasn't to upset about, it felt good, and I am pretty used to running with soggy shoes so that didn't bother me to much. I had decided to wear a short sleeve compression shirt on underneath my shirt and I'm glad I did, I think it helped keep me warm with out making me hot.
I will say one of the most memorable parts of the race was running by the cemetery on the Arsenal, to look at those head stones and think that those men died to give us the freedom to go out do things like run a marathon in the rain gave me a whole new perspective at a time when I could have been struggling a lot more mentally.
Just before coming up to the bridge to exit the Arsenal, I passed my friend James who was doing the half and it looked like he was struggling bad, I learned latter that his knee was bothering him, I slapped him on the back as I went by and told him to "Just keep moving", which he did and finished his first half marathon. Apparently after finishing he immediately said he was giving up running, I later heard he was planning his next one. Ah Ha another one bitten by the bug!
By the time I made it off of the Arsenal I was starting to feel every step of the 20 miles I had already run, I was starting to hurt and I seriously contemplated making a right turn instead of the left and calling it a day. I was tired, sore and soaking wet but seeing as how I am a gluten for punishment, not to mention I was right on pace for 4 hrs I took the left turn and man was I glad I did. As soon as I came off the bridge I saw Deanna and the boys cheering me on, I wanted to stop and give them all a big hug but if I had I may never had started running again so I ran over and slapped them high 5's and kept on moving. That was just the shot of adrenaline and emotion I needed to get me motivated for the final 6 miles.
I've heard that in a marathon you run the first 20 miles with your legs and the final 6 with your heart (or head) and that is absolutely true. After 20 miles raw emotion can only carry you so far, adrenaline spikes last seconds, not minutes and how good you feel off an emotional high one moment is quickly replaced with a deep valley. That's why having support groups is so valuable, why volunteers are the most amazing people and having someone cheering you on can mean the difference between just missing your goal and beating your expectations. I was lucky enough to have Jeff Paul a local professional triathlete and fellow LU member cheering me and others on at the end. He was riding his bike back and forth on the bike path along River Drive shouting out encouragement, giving me split times to the 4 hour pace group as well as to Aaron who was just ahead of me at this point. I was truly amazed at his enthusiasm and his spirit as he worked his way along the course cheering on dozens of people, not to mention it was a pretty wet, miserable cold day out. I ran my final 10k nearly 3 minutes faster than my first, which in my mind is pretty amazing especially since it felt like somewhere around mile 20 I apparently, unbeknown to me, had done a couple sets of heavy squats or at least that's how my quads felt at the time. Having Jeff shouting out encouragement helped me to keep pushing through the pain, pass the 4 hour pace group and eventually catch up to Aaron. The final icing on the cake was surprisingly seeing my wife and kids again about a half mile before the finish line, that was all I needed at the point. I don't think I even ran the last half mile, more like floated, or at least that's how it felt in my mind, I was riding an emotional high that carried me all the way to finish line...in 3:54:15 I took 30+ minutes off my time from last year and finished well under my goal.
All in all it was a great race, even if the weather wasn't perfect it was a perfect day. I'm truly blessed to be where I am at in my life and getting to run a marathon in the rain is just one of the many blessings I have.
Until next time...
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